Usually, mudslinging is a bad thing, unless you are a new studio offering Bossier residents the chance to create art from all that mud.  

Magnolia Mudroom is a small, community-focused studio in Benton dedicated to offering a space for everyone at all skill levels to be able to create art from clay. They encourage learning from each other without judgment or criticism. 

“We want to create a welcoming and inspiring space for all the artists in our community to get together and support each other,” said owner Shera Finney. 

Finney is a veteran of the Air Force and works part-time at the Shreveport Regional Airport. She wanted to open a business based on her passion and bringing people together, not focused on making money. 

“We wanted to give the residents of Benton and north Bossier something to do. We have a lot of places to eat up here, but not a lot of places to get together as a community,” she said. “I wanted something for people to do north of I-220 so they don’t have to fight traffic for 30 minutes.”

A native of Sharp, Louisiana — a remote town located near Alexandria — Finney’s first experience with clay came as a kid when she and friends would mold slides into the creek bed. 

“I’ve been getting muddy since I was a baby, you know?” she laughed.

Finney came closer to home and family after she was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, and her husband joined her there after a deployment. When the time came to retire, they had three children who had grown up in Bossier, and they didn’t want to uproot them. Plus, they didn’t feel the need to move.

“We had three babies here, and they all have been here their whole lives. This is their home,” said Finney. “We didn’t have to move after we retired, so we didn’t. And we don’t really want to move anywhere else.”

She added that the Town of Benton was very supportive in helping her business get established, adding that much of the community is excited for the Mudroom’s opening. It will only be around three months since she set up her own LLC to their opening on June 1.

“The people of Benton want to have businesses in their town, and their support made the process of getting set up and ready much easier,” Finney said.

As a small studio that focuses more on the community and their experience, the Magnolia Mudroom is dedicated to the process of making pottery. They allow walk-ins where you get the chance to purchase a ball of clay and shape it into whatever your heart desires. Additionally, they offer classes like creating pottery using the wheel, and will have summer camps available for kids and teens.

But if you are not a fan of clay and want to avoid getting your hands dirty, the Magnolia Mudroom also offers premade pieces for painting. 

“This is a place that I, as an artist, can come and create and network with other artists,” said Octavia Archer, a local artist and instructor for the Magnolia Mudroom. 

The opportunity for Archer to work at the Mudroom was serendipitous. As the wife of an Airman on active duty, working out of her home garage on base caused her to feel isolated, and the lack of climate control added to the difficulty. She had spent weeks professing her desire for more local opportunities to network and learn from fellow artists. 

That’s when she came across Finney’s announcement on Facebook one random late night. 

“I thanked her for bringing the Mudroom here and we went back and forth before she asked me if I wanted to be an instructor. So, by 3 a.m., I had this new gig,” Archer exclaimed.

She said the Mudroom is perfect for her, and she hopes that other creatives will be grateful for their small studio environment. 

“As much as I love doing my pottery at home, it gets lonely and I appreciate the opportunity to share my passion and my knowledge with other like-minded people,” Archer said.

The Magnolia Mudroom is located at 102 Bellevue Street, Suite 1100 in Benton. Learn more at their Facebook or visit their website.